2011 fall reading list: Green home edition

Looking for a few green home- and garden-related tomes to add to your fall reading list? Here's a few of my picks (shameless self-promotion included) that cover topics ranging from DIY cottage construction to creative eco-crafting.

However much it may make you cringe, your friendly local librarian's favorite cheesy saying around this time of year, "now's the time to fall into reading," is true. Summertime beach reads may get all the hype but autumn — which arrives for real on Friday — is the perfect time to commit to literary pursuits: the light is less harsh, cozy throw blankets start to re-circulate around the house, and you can still comfortably read outdoors (just don't forget those extra layers). There's really nothing lovelier than sitting on a park bench with a pair of warm socks on your feet, a cup of hot apple cider in one hand, and a good book in the other.

Below you'll find a few titles both forthcoming and newly released worth checking out. It's an eclectic bunch — topics range from green cleaning product start-up stories to DIY backyard shed building advice — with thoughtful text and pretty pictures in equal measure. And then there's the shameless plug: Phaidon's "Vitamin Green," an impressive (352 pages!) sustainable design and architecture bible of sorts that I had the pleasure of contributing to. Any books that you're looking forward to sitting down with this fall?

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